Strides Toward Tech. Adaptation

Strides Toward Technological Adaptation in a COVID-19 Era

The need for technological resources is on a steady rise. As the U.S. continues battling an ongoing spread of the coronavirus, Coahoma Community College aims to make strides toward preparing its students for COVID-era switchups.

According to a 2017 PearsonEd.com article, institutions of higher learning were, at that time, looking to make learning innovative by incorporating technology into coursework. The use of devices in the classroom was already becoming a norm among college students. However, going from the occasional assistance of a cell phone in the school setting to the absolute need for a laptop/desktop outside the classroom was quite the jump.

As CCC president Dr. Valmadge T. Towner stated in an address to personnel on the onset of the pandemic, several online classes and a combined instructional delivery method of face-to-face instruction and online activities were set for the fall 2020 semester. To aid students in transitioning to these means of learning more smoothly, Coahoma Community College considered innovative ways to promote student success.

An approved CCC initiative financially backed by the U.S. Department of Education targets first-year students. Coahoma Community College chose to distribute fully-funded laptops to a cohort of firsttime students. Margaret Dixon, the director of Institutional Effectiveness, was enthused to have these resources in place to provide significant support to new Tigers.

“Coahoma Community College is grateful for the U.S. Department of Education’s commitment to helping us ensure our students are successful by providing funding to purchase these laptops for our firsttime, full-time students,” said Dixon. “This opportunity really will help our students get to the finish line amid COVID-19.”

“The reason that first-time, full-time students are receiving laptops is to give them immediate accessibility and connectivity to your faculty and all student support services online. The goal is to increase the persistence rates for these students, especially during this most difficult time,” she added. “Unlike most returning students who have had the opportunity to navigate the campus and learn where all of the resources for success are located, the firsttime students’ approach to these instructional and support services will be very different this term. Coahoma is trying to give these students a foundation to start their educational journey regardless of the current situation.”

Only new Tigers enrolled as full-time students were eligible for the devices. Firsttime students who registered for Fall 2020 courses early were given priority, and recipients will be informed of the location and time to pick up their laptop via their student email.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR STUDENT SUPPORT INITIATIVES

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, select Coahoma students were provided laptops as an added support measure. The initiative was made possible by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act.

ROADS CRAFTED FOR REGALITY: MR. & MISS Coahoma Community College

2020-2021

Promises are meant to be kept, and Kaylin Rodges, Miss Coahoma Community College 2020-2021, vowed to make herself known after becoming annoyed with a life of being closed off and in her shell.

“I tried not to be seen in high school, honestly,” said Rodges.

Multifaceted, she clung to the sport of basketball and flexed her intelligence as an honor student. She recalls being rewarded for having the highest and second-highest average in a few classes and being a superintendent’s list scholar.

“High school for me was nothing special. I hid in all the pictures and stayed somewhere out of sight, reading,” she continued.

With educators in her family, she could not help but become a young lady distinguished by sophistication. When she was growing up, her mom, who once taught biology, made sure her speech abided by grammar rules. Breaking verbs was forbidden.

Rodges is unsure what path of study she will go down when she transfers to a four-year college, but history and English have been subjects she’s enjoyed exploring. The science-centered raps her mom made up as a teacher helped bring about a natural fondness for biology. After spending her last four years of grade schoolacademic career trying not to be seen, taking a first-time-ever shot at the limelight was written in the stars. Little did she know that when she introduced herself as a general education major from Shaw, Mississippi, at the beginning of the Mr. and Miss Coahoma Community College competition on March 5, 2020, she would walk away with the highly coveted title.

“As the school queen, I have had to get used to taking a lot of pictures and social interaction with many people,” said Rodges. “I truly love the huge contrast and how much I have grown as a person.”

One difference between Rodges and past queens was her hair. Her debut walk and wave as Miss CCC yielded admiration. The trendy fashionista’s unique low fade topped with a towering accessory brought the audience of the competition to their feet.

“I remember looking at some picture of beautiful dark-skinned African American women with different gorgeous cuts. I thought to myself, ‘I wonder what I would look like with a haircut like this,’” she recollected. “Therefore, on January 5, 2019, I decided I wanted to cut my hair.”

She believes fellow African American women resembling her femininity grew comfortable with the big chop as they have taken on a rare form of “hairfidence.”

“I believe that those women have found a certain level of self-love and strength in themselves. They have found a sense of freedom, and them not caring is them never wanting to go back to what they just left,” she explained.

“From experience, I noticed that there was a feeling of liberation when I finally cut my afro off. I also feel that I unlocked a whole new level of confidence and love for myself.”

By choosing Coahoma, Rodges was able to develop her vocal ability. She didn’t participate in a choral program in high school, so adapting to the speed of things was a challenge at first.

As a member of Coahoma’s choral program, she is pleased to have learned various music styles, techniques, and songs in different languages.

The songstress performed a solo rendition of Disney’s “Let It Go” at the choir’s 2019 Christmastime concert.

“I have vocally been inspired by so many of my fellow talented choir mates,” said Rodges. “I can also say that I have grown tremendously vocally. I noticed the huge difference after listening to an old recording of myself singing in high school.” “Being in the choral program with my gifted cousin has also been a huge treat,” she added. “I’m excited to see how much I’ve grown by the end of sophomore year.”

Accompanying Rodges on a journey decked out in maroon and white is sophomore Jeremy Brown, who was announced Mr. Coahoma Community College 2020-2021 at the competition. Sophomore Jeremy Brown hopes to follow in the footsteps of CCC director of bands Christopher Jefferson, whom he regards as his role model.

The music education major from Memphis, Tennessee, explored his musical gift in the marching band at Whitehaven High School.

“I could always hear the beat, melodic line, and the thumping bass line as separate entities,” said Brown. As a child, he knew there was something more to the composition. There was a special connection present.

While participating in his high school band, he discovered a passion for music. Because of his dedication to the activity, he received the best freshman award. The trombones were named the best section during his time as the section leader.

“The WHS Sounds of Perfection. My participation in this organization remains one of the best experiences of my life,” he said, hailing the program as the “best high school band in the state of Tennessee.”

“We were amazing. It almost does not seem feasible for us to have been as good as we were.”

For him, the band was an outlet and his primary source for fun. Music was his escape from reality as well as a go-to for dealing with personal matters.

Brown later stepped up to the role of drum major. He remembers starting out as a timid kid in the bunch, then growing by leaps and bounds. Everyone had begun to see the leader in him. Although he had found his niche, hitting the books took precedence, so he learned His musical talent and love for the marching band led to him joining the Marching Maroon Typhoon of Coahoma Community College.

Having spent his freshman year in the CCC band, he got geared up to begin marching to a new beat. Brown was chosen Mr. CCC, a title of prestige fit for his student leader tendencies. He and Rodges presently serve as ambassadors of the institution.

Brown says that being a Tiger has so far been rewarding.

“I would have never known about this gem of an institution if not for Mr. Christopher Jefferson,” said Brown. “I have no regrets about my choice of institution, and I see just how special this school is.”

Jefferson gave him the scoop on all the institution has to offer, but did not pressure him about enrolling.

Brown is proud to be part of a band program he describes as a point of interest and conversation among the band masses. The well-blended tones of the College’s marching band have become a hot commodity in Tiger Nation. Flaunting their excellent instrumental ability, the musicians welcome the challenge of battling groups from other schools across the South.

“We are a hit, and I get to be one of the people who make it happen,” Brown expressed. “The Marching Maroon Typhoon is pound-for-pound one of the best marching bands out there.”

“I love doing my part by playing my horn and ‘cranking’ up with my peers. That adrenaline gets us going and hype. The feeling we get at those moments is almost indescribable. I love it.”

The words of Victor Hugo reflect Brown’s love of music—”Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.”

Scenes from the 2020-2021 Mr. & Miss Coahoma Community College competition. Jeremy Brown, of 29coahomacc.edu Memphis, Tennessee, and Kaylin Rodges, of Shaw, Mississippi, captured the coveted titles and were crowned in front of family, friends, and members of the campus community.